1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a debris collection and prevention device, and more particularly to a device which is effectively retained underneath the seating cushions of an upholstered piece of furniture to prevent debris and other small objects from becoming temporarily or even irretrievably lost within the upholstered body of such piece of furniture.
2. Preliminary Discussion
Upholstered furniture has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. From an aesthetic viewpoint, upholstery can make an old piece of furniture look and feel brand new. If the padding is wearing thin, all one has to do is remove the upholstery, update the padding, and reapply the upholstery, resulting in a brand new experience. If the upholstery has faded, or the owner wants to change the furniture's existing design or color without going through the expense of obtaining a brand new piece, the owner merely has to have the piece of furniture reupholstered and the problem is economically and efficiently solved.
The method of applying upholstery to a piece of furniture, however, is deficient in one major respect, namely the presence of crevices between adjoining parts or portions of such furniture. An upholstered piece of furniture is, in essence, a basic structure (framework and padding) that is wrapped with a piece of fabric. Underneath the seating cushions, there is an upholstery intersection located along the rear where the back section of the piece of furniture abuts or meets the lower or floor section. The present inventor has found that with new pieces of furniture, this abutment can vary from being relatively tight, providing little or no avenue through which small objects may pass, particularly if the design places the rear cushions over the edge of the lower or floor section, to relatively loose. With older pieces of furniture, and through years of use, this abutment, if initially tight, may tend to loosen, or the cushioning shrinks from wear, resulting in a sizable entrance gap or crevice into the inner regions or lower portion of the piece of furniture. A similar relationship may be found adjacent the arms of upholstered chairs and couches.
It is not uncommon for loose change and the like to fall from a person's pocket when such person sits down on a couch or chair. It is also not uncommon for people, in general, to lose various things at random under the cushions of a couch or upholstered chair, especially if the couch is a popular resting and/or working area. Small or slender objects, such as coins, writing utensils, remote controls, valuables or the like, often become lost inside pieces of furniture, because such objects "fall through the cracks", or seams, or crevices in the upholstery, often to be found years later when the furniture is lifted or moved. These loose or open upholstery crevices can become very expensive, especially if a family heirloom or a valuable pieces of jewelry falls through the seams and becomes "lost."
If the bottom of the lower portion of the piece of furniture is open, anything which falls through the crevice will fall through to the floor and may be temporarily lost until the piece of furniture is moved. However, most upholstered furniture pieces, including many combination pieces such as sofa-beds and the like, almost invariably have the bottom closed with a cloth to "finish" the piece and prevent dirt and dust derived from the floor from collecting in the lower portion of the piece of furniture. In such pieces, anything which falls through the rear crevice into the interior of the piece will, for all practicable purposes, be irretrievably lost. Also, dirt and debris that passes through the rear crevice ends up in the interior of the piece causing an unsanitary condition.
While it would be possible to connect the adjoining sections, such as the back and the seat, of upholstered furniture with cloth strips or the like to essentially close off the normal crevices between them, thus eliminating any opening through which objects may fall, and occasionally such cloth strips are found on certain furniture pieces, this expedient has been found not really to be practical. Any such cloth strips need to have a fair amount of slack or they will tend to tear due to stress placed upon them from the movements and weight of occupants of such upholstered furniture, and if such strips are provided with sufficient slack to alleviate any tension upon them, they will in themselves create a significant pocket into which small objects and particularly dirt and trash may collect. In such cases, it may be more sanitary to allow any dirt and debris to fall completely through the crevice, particularly in these days when few persons have personal maids or cleaning personnel to clean each crevice. In addition, the addition of significant extra material to alleviate a problem which most purchasers of upholstered furniture imagine they will encounter only on a sporadic basis, even though it, in fact, happens extremely frequently, however frustrating such problem is when it occurs, and which most purchasers of furniture do not even think of or consider at the time of purchase, is not normally considered to be adequate reason to incur the additional costs of designing the original furniture around the problem or even making modifications to alleviate the problem.
Thus, while there have been previous crevice guards in which strips of plastic, cloth or the like have been designed to fit in or across the gap or crevice between upholstered portions of seating devices, including furniture and automotive seats and the like, these prior devices are not known to have attained any substantial use or market success.
There has been and presently is a need, therefore, for a device which will create a barrier between the accessible sections of an upholstered piece of furniture, located underneath the seating cushions, and the inner regions of the piece of furniture, accessible normally only through the rear crevice in the upholstery, so that small objects and the like will be prevented from becoming lost inside the piece of furniture. Such barrier-type device should fit securely into the crevice, so that any movement by a person using the piece of furniture, whether such movement is derived from normal everyday usage or from the shifting or removal of the seating cushions, will not destroy the barrier's integrity. The device should be easy to insert into, and remove from, the piece of furniture, and should be easy to clean while in its secured position in the piece of furniture.
3. Description of Related Art
The present inventor has conceived of a device which addresses all of the aforementioned concerns, as well as many concerns not shown or addressed by the prior art. The unitary device of the present invention comprises several sections including a handle section, integrated into its single-piece construction, which makes insertion into and removal from upholstered furniture relatively effortless. A collection or blocking section incorporates the collection surface of the device of the invention, or the section which is exposed to the seating cushions and onto which small objects would fall. This section or surface is easily cleanable. All edges of the device of the invention are smooth, or rounded, so that the implementation or use of the device of the invention will not tear or damage either the upholstery or the seating cushions which contact the device. Finally, a unique self-securing or self-wedging section maintains the device of the invention in a fastened position, so that normal movement on or removal of the seating cushions will not cause the integrity of the device within the furniture to either weaken or fail altogether.
Devices of this general nature, i.e. relating to debris collection, accumulation or prevention for upholstered furniture, have not seen many innovations or improvements during the last 40 years. U.S. Pat. No. 2,571,574 issued on Oct. 16, 1951 to E. J. Hicks, entitled "Gap Cover Attachment for Automobile Seats", discloses an elastic-band material which extends over and covers the space between two adjoining automobile seat cushions. The Hicks device was designed to prevent "debris, such as dirt, matches, and similar objects from falling between the seats." It is fixedly attached, both behind the back of the seat and below the front of the seat, and its length is adjustable by means of a buckle fastener. The device of the present invention, on the other hand, is designed to releasably extend along the back crevice of an upholstered seat, thereby preventing debris and small objects from falling into such crevice or other crevice and into the seat. The device of the present invention is more comprehensive in its protection than the one-dimensional "gap covers" akin to Hicks, due particularly to the difference in environments in which the two devices are used.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,771,127 issued on Nov. 20, 1956 to C. C. Cole, entitled "Receptacle for Upholstered Furniture", discloses a through-shaped, "V"-shaped device which is removably positioned in the crevices between adjacent walls of the piece of furniture. The Cole device is designed to trap foreign objects within the device that would otherwise fall through the crevice in the upholstery and end up within the body of the furniture, and is removable by way of handles located along the edges of the receptacle. The device of the present invention is not a hollow receptacle, and therefore, is not designed to "trap" anything. The device of the present invention also contains an additional securing feature, not present within the Cole device, which maintains the crevice seal. The device of the present invention is more efficient in its overall design, since the present invention must merely be wiped clean unlike Cole's device which must be removed and emptied every time it becomes full. Cole's device is also not as revealing or as easy to use as the device of the present invention, as it must be removed in order to expose what has collected within. In addition, since the handle members of the Cole device are not part of its inherent structure, there is the possibility that such handle members may become detached leaving the device irretrievably located within the piece of furniture.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,836,229 issued on May 27, 1958 to N. Spetner, entitled "Sanitary Attachment for Settee", discloses a "T" shaped device comprising a fairly flat top with a sharply-extending bottom capable of being wedged into the narrow gap between the sitting portion and back portion of a restaurant-type booth so as to close that gap and prevent debris from passing into that gap. The Spetner reference has a very limited scope, pertaining only to gap situations akin to restaurant-type booths, and the device of the Spetner reference contains an affixation means for permanent fastening to the exterior of such restaurant-type booth. The device of the present invention comprises a different cross-sectional configuration since it is designed to accommodate a different placement environment. The placement of the device of the present invention is located underneath the seating area so that it is unexposed to the human body and therefore any accumulation of debris remains unexposed to the human body, unlike the Spetner reference. The device of the present invention is also designed to be easily removable, or releasable, also unlike the Spetner reference.
The unique characteristics and operative features of the device of the present invention, are therefore, unrepresented within the prior art. The prior art contains references which address the need for "gap fillers." However, the prior art is outdated in general and unresponsive with respect to any ability to address the concerns of the present inventor. The innovations of the last few years in the furniture industry, and in particular the upholstery business, should be met with the same type of innovations in the field of remediation, to address the concerns and difficulties inherent in the latest methods of upholstering. The device of the present invention is designed to address such concerns in a unique and efficient manner, using techniques and principles not currently shown or disclosed in the prior art.